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An innovative approach to attached cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris using different materials

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Abstract

This article investigates the innovative attached cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) using different materials as an alternative to high capital techniques of harvesting such as centrifugation, flocculation, and filtration. A simple attached algal cultivation system was proposed that was equipped by 10 submerged supporting materials which can harvest algal cells, efficiently. The effect of operational parameters such as light intensity, the rate of aeration, and auto-harvesting time was investigated. A chip, durable, and abundant cellulosic material (Kaldnes carriers covered by kenafs, KCCKs) was proposed for auto-harvesting C. vulgaris cells. The results revealed that optimum aeration rate, light intensity, and auto-harvesting of microalgal cells were 3.6 vvm, 10,548 W/m2, and 12 days, respectively. Six of these KCCKs had the highest biofilm formation percent up to 33%. In this condition, the rate of cell growth increased to 0.6 mg/cm2. Therefore, this system can be used for appropriate auto-harvesting of microalgae in the attached growth systems. C. vulgaris biomass composition is valuable for biodiesel, bioethanol, and animal protein production.

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Funding

This study is a part of an approved research project (no. 194075) performed at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, and is funded by the Vice research of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Student Research Committee, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Negar Jafari & Hossein Farrokhzadeh

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

    Razieh Shafiee Alavijeh

  3. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shahid Sadoughi Yazd University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

    Ali Abdolahnejad

  4. Environment Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, 81676-36954, Iran

    Mohammad Mehdi Amin & Afshin Ebrahimi

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  1. Negar Jafari
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  2. Razieh Shafiee Alavijeh
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  3. Ali Abdolahnejad
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  4. Hossein Farrokhzadeh
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  5. Mohammad Mehdi Amin
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  6. Afshin Ebrahimi
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Correspondence to Afshin Ebrahimi.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Jafari, N., Shafiee Alavijeh, R., Abdolahnejad, A. et al. An innovative approach to attached cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris using different materials. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 20097–20105 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2177-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2177-x

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